An intense Twitch feud has broken out between streamers Pokimane, Ninja and Jidion, and the battle may result in a lawsuit. The popular live streaming service has amassed a large community of streamers since its 2011 launch, leading to both powerful companionships and bitter rivalries. Tyler “Ninja” Blevins signed an exclusive multi-year deal with Twitch back in 2020, and the esports competitor is currently Twitch’s most popular channel at around 17 million followers.
Twitch plays host to a huge number of streamers, some with a modest number of viewers and others who have achieved fame and fortune. Tyler “Ninja” Blevins began his career as a competitive Halo 3 player, but streaming Fortnite gameplay allowed his popularity to skyrocket. While most of the platform’s most popular icons are known for video game streams, others produce more varied content. For example, Jidion Adams is a YouTube content creator known for creating prank and comedy videos, but he recently joined Twitch. Imane “Pokimane” Anys rose to prominence through her League of Legends gameplay streams, with the internet icon’s five dollar Twitch donation cap representing her success on the platform.
As outlined by Twitter user and esports commenter Jake Lucky, a recent controversy broke out involving Pokimane, Jidion and Ninja. Jidion immediately began organizing hate raids against Pokimane after joining Twitch, with the harassment quickly leading to a ban. However, Jidion apparently reached out to Ninja for support, with the esports competitor reportedly texting his Twitch representative to help with the situation. Ninja’s support of her harasser led to outrage from Pokimane, though Ninja now claims that he never actually made an attempt to help Jidion. For the perceived defamation of character, Ninja and his wife Jessica Blevins apparently intend to pursue legal action against Pokimane.
Alongside the drama involving Jidion and Ninja, Pokimane also encountered a recent controversy of her own. In early January Pokimane received a DMCA copyright strike and Twitch ban, kicking the streamer off of the platform for two days. The copyright strike apparently resulted from a watch party stream, which involves a streamer sharing a television series or film with their audience. The copyrighted content is not owned by the streamer, and they profit off of the content through subscriptions and tips, which leads to a violation of the DMCA.
Twitch drama is nothing new for the streaming community, but Pokimane and Ninja’s recent altercation is notable for involving the service’s most popular figures. Jidion’s harassment of Pokimane rightfully resulted in a ban, but Ninja’s potential support of the prank streamer also paints him in a negative light. With the possibility of a lawsuit from the Blevins family, it seems that Ninja is committed to protecting his Twitch image from Pokimane.
